Overview

From the award-winning, bestselling author of The Sound of Things Falling and Reputations, a brilliant collection of stories that showcases why he is one of the best writers—in any language—working today.   Lovers on All Saints' Day is an emotional book that haunts, moves, and seduces. Juan Gabriel Vásquez, the brilliant novelist, now brings his keen eye and rich prose to the themes of love and memory in these seven powerful stories. Vásquez achieves an extraordinary unity of emotion with these fragmented lives. A Colombian writer is witness to a murder that will mark him forever. A woman sits alone in her house, waiting for her husband to return from an expedition to find wood for their stove, while he lies in another woman’s bed a few miles away, unable to heal the wound in his own marriage. In these stories, there are love affairs, revenge, troubled pasts, and tender moments that reveal a person’s whole history in a few sentences. Set in Europe (the scene of Vásquez’s own self-imposed exile from Latin America) and never before available in English, this collection evokes a singular mood and a tone, and showcase Vásquez’s hypnotic writing. Vásquez is a humane, deeply insightful writer, and these stories leave one feeling transformed from the experience of reading them, with a greater vision of humanity and society, a greater understanding of relationships and of love.

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9781594634277

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Reviews

Praise for Lovers on All Saints' Day: [Vasquez's] prose is rich in detail and sparkles with poetic lushness, as well as echoing the realist canon in the superb control of plot, setting and characters. Without truculence, he delivers a tense and exciting read. Miami Herald With few exceptions, the seven stories that compose the collection dwell with hunters, journalists, disgruntled heirs to stately property but, whatever their occupations and interests, Vasquezsearches them out in details that might otherwise have gotten squandered... At times it takes darkness literally, in the case of the long night in 'Life on Grimsey Island' the collection's final story to arrive at searing illumination. NPR The twinned themes of this collection are love and memory, which Vasquez unspools through stories about love affairs, revenge, troubled histories whole lives and worlds sketched with a few deft strokes. The Millions Here are revenge, murder and infidelity, dealt with in an elegant, detailed style. Financial Times [A] pervading atmosphere of melancholy, mists and rural isolation: it is this that gives the collection its powerful sense of coherence and unity . [ Lovers on All Saints' Day is] a testimony to the early, dark brilliance of Vasquez writing. Sunday Times (UK) Praise for The Sound of Things Falling: Winner of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2014 [A] Brilliant new novel...gripping...absorbing right to the end. The Sound of Things Falling may be a page turner, but it's also a deep meditation on fate and death. Edmund White, The New York Times Book Review Deeply affecting and closely observed. Hector Tobar, Los Angeles Times Like Bolano, [Vasquez] is a master stylist and a virtuoso of patient pacing and intricate structure, and he uses the novel for much the same purpose that Bolano did: to map the deep, cascading damage done to our world by greed and violence and to concede that even love can t repair it. Lev Grossman, Time Magazine The narrative escalates, the mystery deepens, and the scope of the story widens with each page. This terrific novel draws on Colombia s tragic history and cycles of violence to tell the story of a troubled man trying to come to grips with the distant forces and events that have shaped his life. Khaled Hosseini Juan Gabriel Vasquezis a considerable writer. The Sound of Things Falling is an artful, ruminative mystery... And the reader comes away haunted by its strong playing out of an irreversible fate. E. L. Doctorow Razor-sharp O, the Oprah Magazine An undoubted talent Introspective and personal. The Wall Street Journal Vasquez creates characters whose memories resonate powerfully across an ingeniously interlocking structure Vasquez creates a compelling literary work one where an engaging narrative envelops poignant memories of a fraught historical period. The New Republic The Sound of Things Falling is a masterful chronicle of how the violence between the cartels and government forces spilled out to affect and corrode ordinary lives. It is also Vasquez's finest work to date . His stark realism - the flip side of the magical variation of his compatriot Gabriel Garcia Marquez - together with his lyrical treatment of memory produces both an electrifying and a soberingread. San Francisco Chronicle Praise for Juan Gabriel Vasquez: From the opening paragraph of The Informers, I felt myself under the spell of a masterful writer. Juan Gabriel Vasquez has many gifts intelligence, wit, energy, a deep vein of feeling but he uses them so naturally that soon enough one forgets one's amazement at his talents, and then the strange, beautiful sorcery of his tale takes hold. Nicole Krauss Juan Gabriel Vasquez is one of the most original new voices of Latin American literature. His first novel, The Informers, a very powerful story about the shadowy years immediately following World War II, is testimony to the richness of his imagination as well as the subtlety and elegance of his prose. Mario Vargas Llosa What Vasquez offers us, with great narrative skill, is that grey area of human actions and awareness where our capacity to make mistakes, betray, and conceal creates a chain reaction which condemns us to a world without satisfaction. Friends and enemies, wives and lovers, parents and children mix and mingle angrily, silently, blindly, while the novelist uses irony and ellipsis to unmask his characters 'self-protective strategies' and goes with them not discovering them, simply accompanying them as they come to understand that an unsatisfactory life can also be the life they inherit. Carlos Fuentes For anyone who has read the entire works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and is in search of a new Colombian novelist, then Juan Gabriel Vasquez's The Informers is a thrilling new discovery. Colm Toibin A fine and frightening study of how the past preys upon the present, and an absorbing revelation of a little-known wing of the theatre of the Nazi war. John Banville Praise for The Informers: [A]remarkable novel. It deals with big universal themes... It is the best work of literary fiction to come my way since 2005 and into the bargain it is immensely entertaining, with twists and turns of plot that yield great satisfaction. Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post One hallmark of a gifted novelist is the ability to see the potential for compelling fiction in an incident, anecdote or scrap of history, no matter how dry or seemingly obscure, that others have overlooked. By that standard and several others, the career of Juan Gabriel Vasquez is off to a notable start. [A] straight-ahead, old-fashioned narrative Two years ago Mr. Vasquez was included on a list of the most important Latin American writers under 40, nominated by more than 2,000 authors, literary agents, librarians, editors and critics. The Informers alone justifies their choice, given its challenging subject and psychological depth, but clearly there are bigger and even more intriguing things on the way. Larry Rohter, The New York Times Chilling The past is a shadow-bound, elusive creature in [ The Informers ] When pursued it may flee, or, if cornered, it may unleash terrible truths. Los Angeles Times Compelling The book combines a reflection on the delicate bonds of family, a journey through one of the few untold stories of World War II and even a look at the sometimes parasitic nature of the media What sets The Informers, apart from other historical novels is Vasquez's questioning of his own role as muckraker and writer. San Francisco Chronicle Dramatic and surprising Harper s Magazine Praise for The Secret History of Costaguana: An intricately detailed, audacious reframing of Nostromo, the classic 1904 Joseph Conrad tale of power, corruption, intrigue and revolution in a South American country he called Costaguana. The Secret History of Costaguana is a potent mixture of history, fiction and literary gamesmanship. Vasquez's themes are of the moment: powerful countries (the U.S. foremost among them) dabbling in Latin American politics, bribing politicians and journalists, trolling for profits; European writers appropriating history for their own tales. His particular triumph with this novel is to remind us, as Balzac put it, that novels can be the private histories of nations. Los Angeles Times [A] post-modern literary revenge story. The New York Times [An] exceptional new novel When Mr. Vasquez, like Conrad, focuses on the individuals trapped in these national tragicomedies, he displays a keen emotional and moral awareness. The Secret History of Costaguana is a cunning tribute to a classic, but it also stands on its own merits as a dense and involving story about men who are either manipulating history or finding themselves at the barrel-end of it. Wall Street Journal From the Hardcover edition. Praise for Lovers on All Saints' Day [Vasquez's] prose is rich in detail and sparkles with poetic lushness, as well as echoing the realist canon in the superb control of plot, setting and characters. Without truculence, he delivers a tense and exciting read. Miami Herald With few exceptions, the seven stories that compose the collection dwell with hunters, journalists, disgruntled heirs to stately property but, whatever their occupations and interests, Vasquezsearches them out in details that might otherwise have gotten squandered... At times it takes darkness literally, in the case of the long night in 'Life on Grimsey Island' the collection's final story to arrive at searing illumination. NPR The twinned themes of this collection are love and memory, which Vasquez unspools through stories about love affairs, revenge, troubled histories whole lives and worlds sketched with a few deft strokes. The Millions Here are revenge, murder and infidelity, dealt with in an elegant, detailed style. Financial Times [A] pervading atmosphere of melancholy, mists and rural isolation: it is this that gives the collection its powerful sense of coherence and unity . [ Lovers on All Saints' Day is] a testimony to the early, dark brilliance of Vasquez writing. Sunday Times (UK) Praise for The Sound of Things Falling Winner of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2014 Winner of the Alfaguara Prize 2011 Winner of the Gregor von Rezzori Prize 2013 [A] Brilliant new novel...gripping...absorbing right to the end. The Sound of Things Falling may be a page turner, but it's also a deep meditation on fate and death. Edmund White, The New York Times Book Review Deeply affecting and closely observed. Hector Tobar, Los Angeles Times Like Bolano, [Vasquez] is a master stylist and a virtuoso of patient pacing and intricate structure, and he uses the novel for much the same purpose that Bolano did: to map the deep, cascading damage done to our world by greed and violence and to concede that even love can t repair it. Lev Grossman, Time Magazine The narrative escalates, the mystery deepens, and the scope of the story widens with each page. This terrific novel draws on Colombia s tragic history and cycles of violence to tell the story of a troubled man trying to come to grips with the distant forces and events that have shaped his life. Khaled Hosseini Juan Gabriel Vasquezis a considerable writer. The Sound of Things Falling is an artful, ruminative mystery... And the reader comes away haunted by its strong playing out of an irreversible fate. E. L. Doctorow Compelling genuine and magnificently written. Library Journal, STARRED Literary magic of one of Latin America s most talented novelists a masterpiece. Booklist, STARRED An exploration in the ways in which stories profoundly impact our lives. Publishers Weekly, STARRED Languid existential noir, one that may put you in mind of Paul Auster. Dwight Garner, New York Times If you only read one book this month... Esquire Razor-sharp O, the Oprah Magazine An undoubted talent Introspective and personal. The Wall Street Journal It's noir raised to the level of art. It's a page-turner but it's also a profound meditation on fate and mortality. 2013 Premior Gregor von Rezzori Prize announcement Vasquez creates characters whose memories resonate powerfully across an ingeniously interlocking structure Vasquez creates a compelling literary work one where an engaging narrative envelops poignant memories of a fraught historical period. The New Republic Quietly elegant Vasquez is a resourceful storyteller. Scenes and dialogue shine with well-chosen details. His theme echoes compellingly through family parallels, ill-fated flights and even a recurring hippo motif. He shrugs off the long shadow of Gabriel Garcia Marquez with a gritty realism that has its own persuasive magic. Bloomberg News The Sound of Things Falling is a masterful chronicle of how the violence between the cartels and government forces spilled out to affect and corrode ordinary lives. It is also Vasquez's finest work to date . His stark realism - the flip side of the magical variation of his compatriot Gabriel Garcia Marquez - together with his lyrical treatment of memory produces both an electrifying and a soberingread. San Francisco Chronicle Haunting Vasquezbrilliantly and sensitively illuminates the intimate effects and whispers of life under siege, and the moral ambiguities that inform survival. Cleveland Plain Dealer Moving The novel presents the human toll exacted by the country s years of violence. New York Observer Vasquez shows how the personal is linked to the political The story is compelling but through Vasquez s vivid prose (rendered brilliantly into English by the award-winning translator Anne McLean) it also becomes haunting . [A] poignant and perturbing tale about the inheritance of fear in a country scrabbling to regain its soul. Financial Times [C]ompelling, beautifully translated . [E]lucidates with great acuity the complex relationship between memory and trauma In this hugely affecting novel, it is the silent suffering that haunts the most . Engrossing . Vasquez holds his tightly crafted narrative together with admirable stylistic control as he shows a world falling apart and the redemptive powers of love and language to rebuild it. The Guardian Praise for Juan Gabriel Vasquez From the opening paragraph of The Informers, I felt myself under the spell of a masterful writer. Juan Gabriel Vasquez has many gifts intelligence, wit, energy, a deep vein of feeling but he uses them so naturally that soon enough one forgets one's amazement at his talents, and then the strange, beautiful sorcery of his tale takes hold. Nicole Krauss Juan Gabriel Vasquez is one of the most original new voices of Latin American literature. His first novel, The Informers, a very powerful story about the shadowy years immediately following World War II, is testimony to the richness of his imagination as well as the subtlety and elegance of his prose. Mario Vargas Llosa What Vasquez offers us, with great narrative skill, is that grey area of human actions and awareness where our capacity to make mistakes, betray, and conceal creates a chain reaction which condemns us to a world without satisfaction. Friends and enemies, wives and lovers, parents and children mix and mingle angrily, silently, blindly, while the novelist uses irony and ellipsis to unmask his characters self-protective strategies and goes with them not discovering them, simply accompanying them as they come to understand that an unsatisfactory life can also be the life they inherit. Carlos Fuentes For anyone who has read the entire works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and is in search of a new Colombian novelist, then Juan Gabriel Vasquez's The Informers is a thrilling new discovery. Colm Toibin A fine and frightening study of how the past preys upon the present, and an absorbing revelation of a little-known wing of the theatre of the Nazi war. John Banville Praise for The Informers [A]remarkable novel. It deals with big universal themes... It is the best work of literary fiction to come my way since 2005 and into the bargain it is immensely entertaining, with twists and turns of plot that yield great satisfaction. Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post One hallmark of a gifted novelist is the ability to see the potential for compelling fiction in an incident, anecdote or scrap of history, no matter how dry or seemingly obscure, that others have overlooked. By that standard and several others, the career of Juan Gabriel Vasquez is off to a notable start. [A] straight-ahead, old-fashioned narrative Two years ago Mr. Vasquez was included on a list of the most important Latin American writers under 40, nominated by more than 2,000 authors, literary agents, librarians, editors and critics. The Informers alone justifies their choice, given its challenging subject and psychological depth, but clearly there are bigger and even more intriguing things on the way. Larry Rohter, The New York Times Chilling The past is a shadow-bound, elusive creature in [ The Informers ] When pursued it may flee, or, if cornered, it may unleash terrible truths. Los Angeles Times To read The Informers is to enjoy the shock of new talent [Vasquez s] novel is subtle, surprising and deeply pleasurable, with razors secreted among its pages. The Cleveland Plain Dealer Compelling The book combines a reflection on the delicate bonds of family, a journey through one of the few untold stories of World War II and even a look at the sometimes parasitic nature of the media What sets The Informers, apart from other historical novels is Vasquez's questioning of his own role as muckraker and writer. San Francisco Chronicle Dramatic and surprising Harper s Magazine Unlike anything written by his Latin American contemporaries. If there is any prevailing influence in this chilling work, it is in the late German writer, W.G. Sebald The Informers deserves to be read [O]ne of this year s outstanding books. The Financial Times Masterful Vasquez has much in common with Roberto Bolano . But unlike Bolano s stolid, serviceable prose, Vasquez s style is musical, occasionally even lush, and its poeticism remains unmuddled in McLean s translation. Bookforum Praise for The Secret History of Costaguana An intricately detailed, audacious reframing of Nostromo, the classic 1904 Joseph Conrad tale of power, corruption, intrigue and revolution in a South American country he called Costaguana. The Secret History of Costaguana is a potent mixture of history, fiction and literary gamesmanship. Vasquez's themes are of the moment: powerful countries (the U.S. foremost among them) dabbling in Latin American politics, bribing politicians and journalists, trolling for profits; European writers appropriating history for their own tales. His particular triumph with this novel is to remind us, as Balzac put it, that novels can be the private histories of nations. Los Angeles Times [A] post-modern literary revenge story. The New York Times [An] exceptional new novel When Mr. Vasquez, like Conrad, focuses on the individuals trapped in these national tragicomedies, he displays a keen emotional and moral awareness. The Secret History of Costaguana is a cunning tribute to a classic, but it also stands on its own merits as a dense and involving story about men who are either manipulating history or finding themselves at the barrel-end of it. Wall Street Journal From the Hardcover edition.

Praise for Lovers on All Saints' Day: [Vasquez's] prose is rich in detail and sparkles with poetic lushness, as well as echoing the realist canon in the superb control of plot, setting and characters. Without truculence, he delivers a tense and exciting read. Miami Herald With few exceptions, the seven stories that compose the collection dwell with hunters, journalists, disgruntled heirs to stately property but, whatever their occupations and interests, Vasquezsearches them out in details that might otherwise have gotten squandered... At times it takes darkness literally, in the case of the long night in 'Life on Grimsey Island' the collection's final story to arrive at searing illumination. NPR The twinned themes of this collection are love and memory, which Vasquez unspools through stories about love affairs, revenge, troubled histories whole lives and worlds sketched with a few deft strokes. The Millions Here are revenge, murder and infidelity, dealt with in an elegant, detailed style. Financial Times [A] pervading atmosphere of melancholy, mists and rural isolation: it is this that gives the collection its powerful sense of coherence and unity . [ Lovers on All Saints' Day is] a testimony to the early, dark brilliance of Vasquez writing. Sunday Times (UK) Praise for The Sound of Things Falling: Winner of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2014 [A] Brilliant new novel...gripping...absorbing right to the end. The Sound of Things Falling may be a page turner, but it's also a deep meditation on fate and death. Edmund White, The New York Times Book Review Deeply affecting and closely observed. Hector Tobar, Los Angeles Times Like Bolano, [Vasquez] is a master stylist and a virtuoso of patient pacing and intricate structure, and he uses the novel for much the same purpose that Bolano did: to map the deep, cascading damage done to our world by greed and violence and to concede that even love can t repair it. Lev Grossman, Time Magazine The narrative escalates, the mystery deepens, and the scope of the story widens with each page. This terrific novel draws on Colombia s tragic history and cycles of violence to tell the story of a troubled man trying to come to grips with the distant forces and events that have shaped his life. Khaled Hosseini Juan Gabriel Vasquezis a considerable writer. The Sound of Things Falling is an artful, ruminative mystery... And the reader comes away haunted by its strong playing out of an irreversible fate. E. L. Doctorow Razor-sharp O, the Oprah Magazine An undoubted talent Introspective and personal. The Wall Street Journal Vasquez creates characters whose memories resonate powerfully across an ingeniously interlocking structure Vasquez creates a compelling literary work one where an engaging narrative envelops poignant memories of a fraught historical period. The New Republic The Sound of Things Falling is a masterful chronicle of how the violence between the cartels and government forces spilled out to affect and corrode ordinary lives. It is also Vasquez's finest work to date . His stark realism - the flip side of the magical variation of his compatriot Gabriel Garcia Marquez - together with his lyrical treatment of memory produces both an electrifying and a soberingread. San Francisco Chronicle Praise for Juan Gabriel Vasquez: From the opening paragraph of The Informers, I felt myself under the spell of a masterful writer. Juan Gabriel Vasquez has many gifts intelligence, wit, energy, a deep vein of feeling but he uses them so naturally that soon enough one forgets one's amazement at his talents, and then the strange, beautiful sorcery of his tale takes hold. Nicole Krauss Juan Gabriel Vasquez is one of the most original new voices of Latin American literature. His first novel, The Informers, a very powerful story about the shadowy years immediately following World War II, is testimony to the richness of his imagination as well as the subtlety and elegance of his prose. Mario Vargas Llosa What Vasquez offers us, with great narrative skill, is that grey area of human actions and awareness where our capacity to make mistakes, betray, and conceal creates a chain reaction which condemns us to a world without satisfaction. Friends and enemies, wives and lovers, parents and children mix and mingle angrily, silently, blindly, while the novelist uses irony and ellipsis to unmask his characters 'self-protective strategies' and goes with them not discovering them, simply accompanying them as they come to understand that an unsatisfactory life can also be the life they inherit. Carlos Fuentes For anyone who has read the entire works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and is in search of a new Colombian novelist, then Juan Gabriel Vasquez's The Informers is a thrilling new discovery. Colm Toibin A fine and frightening study of how the past preys upon the present, and an absorbing revelation of a little-known wing of the theatre of the Nazi war. John Banville Praise for The Informers: [A]remarkable novel. It deals with big universal themes... It is the best work of literary fiction to come my way since 2005 and into the bargain it is immensely entertaining, with twists and turns of plot that yield great satisfaction. Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post One hallmark of a gifted novelist is the ability to see the potential for compelling fiction in an incident, anecdote or scrap of history, no matter how dry or seemingly obscure, that others have overlooked. By that standard and several others, the career of Juan Gabriel Vasquez is off to a notable start. [A] straight-ahead, old-fashioned narrative Two years ago Mr. Vasquez was included on a list of the most important Latin American writers under 40, nominated by more than 2,000 authors, literary agents, librarians, editors and critics. The Informers alone justifies their choice, given its challenging subject and psychological depth, but clearly there are bigger and even more intriguing things on the way. Larry Rohter, The New York Times Chilling The past is a shadow-bound, elusive creature in [ The Informers ] When pursued it may flee, or, if cornered, it may unleash terrible truths. Los Angeles Times Compelling The book combines a reflection on the delicate bonds of family, a journey through one of the few untold stories of World War II and even a look at the sometimes parasitic nature of the media What sets The Informers, apart from other historical novels is Vasquez's questioning of his own role as muckraker and writer. San Francisco Chronicle Dramatic and surprising Harper s Magazine Praise for The Secret History of Costaguana: An intricately detailed, audacious reframing of Nostromo, the classic 1904 Joseph Conrad tale of power, corruption, intrigue and revolution in a South American country he called Costaguana. The Secret History of Costaguana is a potent mixture of history, fiction and literary gamesmanship. Vasquez's themes are of the moment: powerful countries (the U.S. foremost among them) dabbling in Latin American politics, bribing politicians and journalists, trolling for profits; European writers appropriating history for their own tales. His particular triumph with this novel is to remind us, as Balzac put it, that novels can be the private histories of nations. Los Angeles Times [A] post-modern literary revenge story. The New York Times [An] exceptional new novel When Mr. Vasquez, like Conrad, focuses on the individuals trapped in these national tragicomedies, he displays a keen emotional and moral awareness. The Secret History of Costaguana is a cunning tribute to a classic, but it also stands on its own merits as a dense and involving story about men who are either manipulating history or finding themselves at the barrel-end of it. Wall Street Journal From the Hardcover edition.

Author Information

Juan Gabriel Vásquez’s books include the forthcoming novel Reputations, as well as the 2014 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award winner and national bestseller, The Sound of Things Falling, and the award-winning The Informers and The Secret History of Costaguana. Vásquez’s books have been published in twenty-five languages worldwide. After sixteen years in France, Belgium, and Spain, he now lives in Bogotá. Anne McLean translates Latin American and Spanish novels, short stories, memoirs, and other writings. She has twice won both the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the Premio Valle Inclán, and received the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award with Juan Gabriel Vásquez for his novel The Sound of Things Falling. She lives in Toronto.

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